There are conventional technologies that group a plurality of devices on a network and automatically activate them. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication, No. 2001-242967, devices providing soft switches that become activated due to the automatic activation of a power build-up signal or the like are disclosed as devices connected on a network, and a method is disclosed in which the terminal devices having this software that activates the soft switches installed are automatically activated. According to this invention, information is managed that relates to a plurality of devices having a function in which a predetermined device is activated due to reception of a particular signal (activation signal), and when the activation of this device has been detected, the plurality of devices 130 are automatically activated by sending a particular signal to the plurality of devices indicated by the management information.
In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication, No. 2002-523924 discloses a method in which an input message is distributed to a plurality of network gateways. According to this invention, an HTTP request and an HTTP response are formed by using a push agent and a pull agent having network drivers for each wireless network carrier, and thereby communication with a wireless terminal is carried out.
In contrast, in recent years, accompanying the diffusion of mobile information terminals such as PDAs, push-type message delivery services for information using these portable information devices are being provided. However, to construct a unique push-type message distribution system, great development costs are incurred, and this is a problem for the introduction of these systems.